


Wrapped

by stelleshine



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Anger, Angst, First Time, M/M, Pining, ROWYSO tour, Song Fic (Kinda), discovery of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 17:06:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6123556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelleshine/pseuds/stelleshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael wrote 'Wrapped Around Your Finger' for Luke, and decides to tell him that - repeatedly - backstage after their show, with Luke pressed up against a wall. From there, feelings happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrapped

Luke could remember the first time he heard it.

When Michael first said it, dizzy and sweaty after one of the American shows, when they’d lost count of how many to go. They’d all been a little high; stumbling off stage like they had liquor running through their veins, but the burn of adrenaline zig zagging its way up their spines told them otherwise.

Ashton was giggling, the high-pitched joyous sound filling Luke’s ears, trying to squeeze its way in past the ringing he always heard straight after a show. It was alarming, sometimes, that everything sounded like it was underwater for a good twenty minutes, but he’d come to welcome the sound, that it signify a job well done.

Calum’s desperate gasped breaths of laughter joined Ashton, and Luke snorted as the older man pulled Calum into a headlock, dragging him down the darkened hallway to the dressing room. Luke was contemplating his dinner choice; looking forward to taking off his shoes and peeling off his skin-tight jeans when he was jerked backwards suddenly.

He stumbled over his own feet, letting out a sharp sound of surprise as he was jerked again, and his back hit up against a wall in a darkened spot of the hallway.

“What the –“ he began, wondering if he’d tripped over his own feet, but then Michael was crowding into him.

“You were so good,” he panted, his hands planted either side of Luke’s head, against the wall.

Luke let out a soft breath of laughter, trying to focus his eyes on his friend. “We were all good.”

“No,” Michael argued, his hair mussed with sweat, his green eyes positively dancing. “ _You_ were good,” he repeated, leaning in, his nose glancing off Luke’s sweaty forehead.

Luke let the compliment wash over him, along with the excitement of being on stage. He knew he should be exhausted, that they’d been going for months with barely any time to stop, but it would come. In an hour or so when they were back on the bus and stuck between awake and asleep, but for now, he was going to let the excitement hold him there in the moment.

“On _Wrapped_ ,” Michael was saying, his lips moving against Luke’s forehead. “Like, you just…the _chorus_ , Luke.”

Luke laughed again, his hands grabbing at the sides of Michael’s sweaty t-shirt, giving it a tug. “S’your song,” he mumbled out, hoping Michael could still hear him.

“It’s _your_ song,” Michael insisted, his hands moving to cup Luke’s cheeks. “I wrote it for you.”

Luke laughed again, feeling the starry feeling of adrenaline slam into him from each side.

“Luke,” Michael said, his voice a little firmer, pulling away to look at him.

Luke looked back, his eyes locking with Michael’s, and he felt his cheeks flush. The heat started beside his nose and spread outward, and he had to look away.

“Luke,” Michael said, demanding his attention once more. “You know that, right?”

Luke didn’t know what he knew, and Michael’s words were blurring together. He pulled him forward with the grip he had on Michael’s t-shirt, and let out a sigh.

“I’m wrapped around your finger,” Michael breathed out, leaning forward and pressing his face into Luke’s sweaty neck.

For some reason, the words hit Luke square in the gut, like he’d been winded by the sentence. He clung onto Michael, his arms wrapping around his shoulders, hands spread out on his back. It felt nice to be close, to steal Michael’s attention all for himself, when he was always so good at giving it to everyone else.

They’d stood there long enough that Luke’s buzz started to fade, and his arms were too heavy to hold up so they dropped to Michael’s hips instead. “M’tired,” he mumbled out softly, nuzzling against Michael’s neck.

“M’hungry.”

Luke snorted, and Michael pulled away to grin at him, stepping out of the embrace to continue their journey down the hallway.

Ashton and Calum were already eating, their plates loaded with what looked like incredibly tasty Mexican food, and Luke forgot all about Michael’s confession.

**

It happened the next night, at the next show, in a new city. And it felt like the first time Luke had heard it, even though he could remember the last time, the night before. Luke had laughed again, had pulled Michael in close and hugged him, choosing not to reply, because it didn’t seem like Michael wanted one.

Ashton had broken that hug before it was over, insisting that bus call was earlier, and that if they didn’t have dinner and grab showers, they’d be left behind.

Luke had followed the oldest member of their band with a brilliant smile on his face, Michael following close behind.

**

Luke had gotten used to it, after that. It was like he expected it, and lived for the moment it happened, and somehow made singing the song onstage hit him harder in his chest, if it were possible.

He’d stand in the shadows as Michael started the song, with his dizzy, raw voice and Luke would _shiver_ , and he wasn’t sure why, if Michael’s confession made sense when he crooned the words, when their eyes would meet as Luke moved towards his microphone.

And after, when Michael’s hands would manhandle him into a dark corner, Luke’s heart would jump in his chest and he’d press his face into Michael’s neck and hold him close until the spell was broken. It was like a constant feeling of warmth inside of him, when he had Michael’s undivided attention. It fed the performer in him, the desperation for attention and compliments.

But there was a part of him that reminded himself that the words they said after coming off stage was usually bullshit, the excited ramblings of four young men high on adrenaline, where they were a mix of hungry and full of energy and in need of sleep or a late night party.

He never took it seriously until Michael said it other places, too.

Like when they had some time off in LA, and moved back into their house for a little downtime and relaxation before kicking off the tour again. He’d come out of the bathroom in just his boxer briefs, towelling off his hair as he prepared to cross the hall and stumble into bed, feeling as though his body was fighting off the beginning of a cold.

His eyes were half closed, his steps a little slow, and when he saw Michael exit his own room, he smiled, his feet scuffing over the carpet and threatening to spill him onto the floor.

Michael caught him bodily, hands against Luke’s ribcage to gently lean him up against the wall, the towel falling from Luke’s hands.

“It’s about you,” Michael whispered, his lips pressed to Luke’s temple.

Luke swallowed, feeling less tired and more acutely aware of the words Michael was saying.

“Yeah?”

He blinked, knowing that Michael was expecting an answer, but he didn’t know what to say.

Michael’s lips pressed to his cheek in a soft kiss, and then he was letting go. “G’night.”

Luke stayed slumped against the wall as he watched Michael descend the steps in the quiet house.

**

The time Luke never expects to hear it, is when he’s with _her_.

She was a new development, and he was scared. He’d never felt so _nineteen_ than when he was with her, being directed around as if he were a servant, and he was too inexperienced to argue. Plus, she was nice, always holding his hand when they were out together, always so attentive to him when her friends were around.

She’d been his _first_ , but he hadn’t told her that. She’d figured as much, after the first time, when she was smoking a cigarette and making him cough when she blew it in his direction. She told him he’d _get better_ , that they’d _practice_ and he knew he should be excited by that.

But they were out at the Nice Guy, and for the first time since he met her, his entire band was out with them. There were her friends too, of course, but he was more excited by the fact Michael was there, sipping red wine and talking to someone Luke didn’t know, and looking like he didn’t completely _hate_ being there.

Ashton was with Bryana – Luke figured there were _on_ in their on-and-off-again relationship – and holding hands in a lowly lit corner of the club. Calum was _somewhere_ ; he’d gone for drinks when they’d arrived and hadn’t made it back again, and Luke was starting to need some of the liquid courage he always seemed to crave whenever he was with her.

So he’d detached their hands and got up, rubbing his sweaty palms off on his thighs and headed for the bar. The club wasn’t packed – he figured not many people partied hard on a Wednesday night – and he made it to the bar easily, watching as the bartender raised an eyebrow, but put down a glass of vodka and red bull in front of him, and went to serve someone else.

Luke picked up his glass, taking a sip, and started back for the VIP section, before Michael was almost body checking him.

Luke grunted, spilling his drink just a little over the rim of his glass, letting Michael steer him off course towards the private screen hiding the bathrooms from view.

“Michael,” Luke whined softly, the older man’s fingers digging in against his sides.

“Shut up,” Michael whispered, his voice deep and commanding.

It made Luke do just that, sealing his lips closed and let Michael guide him around the back of the privacy screen before pressing him up against it.

“I’m wrapped around your finger,” Michael breathed, leaning in and pressing his mouth against Luke’s stubbled jaw, pressing against him. “Shit, Luke.”

Luke felt his glass slip just a little, tightening his fingers around it as he was slammed with the strength of those words, the honesty Michael spoke against his skin.

“Jesus,” Michael whispered, one hand curling around the back of Luke’s neck. “What’re you doing, hm?”

Luke opened his mouth and closed it again, frowning at the question. “I’m…” he began. “I got a drink?”

Michael let out a soft breath of laughter. “You’re an idiot.”

Luke smiled, letting the term of endearment wash over him.

“You got nothin’ to say?” Michael murmured. “M’pouring my heart out here.”

Luke wrapped his arms loosely around Michael’s shoulders, being careful not to spill his drink. He nuzzled the older man affectionately, letting his eyes fall shut.

“Man of few words,” Michael murmured. “Go back to your girlfriend.”

Luke frowned when Michael pulled away, avoiding his eyes and disappearing around the screen quickly, leaving Luke confused, and maybe the tiniest bit hurt.

**

It’s later that night, after he’d decided he wasn’t going back to the hotel with her, when he gets home to a quiet house.

They’d ended up staying longer at the Nice Guy than the band, although Luke had wanted to go when Ashton had given him a heads up that they were leaving. She’d gripped his hand and always did the _thing_ she did, when she said he’d stay and somehow convince him that it was his idea in the first place.

He couldn’t say no, not when her friends were still drinking and laughing, and she pouted her full lips at him.

So it was almost two when he was letting himself back into the house, and he was exhausted – how he always felt after being with her – and immediately headed for the stairs. He climbed them slowly, listening to his boots thud against the carpet, and despite wanting to shower and sleep, he bypassed his room completely and stopped at the closed door to Michael’s room.

He hadn’t touched his first drink of the night after Michael had left him near the bathrooms, and had sipped water – and sometimes lemonade – in a short, spirit glass, so he didn’t have to explain himself to her.

So his head was clear, and he shifted his feet where he stood, lip ring trapped between his teeth for the longest few minutes of his life. There wasn’t a sound to be heard, but if he listened closely, he could hear Ashton snoring, and maybe the muted sound of music coming from Calum’s room.

But he could’ve been imagining it, wanting the normalcy he felt when he was within the walls of their familiar home.

He pressed his palms against Michael’s door, fighting an inner monologue he hadn’t acknowledged until he was in the back seat of a four wheel drive alone, letting the car carry him away from her shocked expression, and towards something he had to deal with, because it was getting _ridiculous_.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he ignored it, already anticipating the barrage of texts he’d get from her that night, insisting he spend the night with her, that leaving her was _rude_ , and he just didn’t _care_.

He grabbed for the doorknob and twisted it sharply, pressing Michael’s door open and stepped in quickly, shutting it soundlessly after him. He stood there just listening to Michael breathe, and it filled him with a sense of calm that he realized he only felt when he was in the older man’s presence.

Luke was still relentlessly chewing at his lip ring as he toed his boots off, and peeled his socks off after, letting his jacket fall to the floor as he shrugged it off. He took a few steps towards the foot of the bed, his eyes well-adjusted to the dark, and could see Michael’s profile as he slept.

But his nerves were settling in, and he was questioning every decision he was making as he leant forward until his knees touched the mattress, and he pitched forward slowly, crawling up onto the king sized bed on shaky hands and knees.

He went slow, crawling up the bed until he reached the top, slumping down gently beside Michael. He stared at his face for a few long moments before he leant in, pressing his lips to the apple of the older man’s cheek.

Michael shifted slightly, turned his head toward the contact of Luke’s mouth, before settling.

Luke’s heart thundered in his chest, and he was scared that sound alone would wake Michael, and even though he knew that was the goal, he didn’t know what to _say_.

His mouth moved down from Michael’s cheek to the corner of his mouth, reaching out to press his fingertips against Michael’s bare shoulder.

Michael moved, letting out a soft grunt, and rolled away from Luke’s mouth for just a second, before leaning back in.

“I need to know,” Luke whispered, lips pressed right up against Michael’s cheek. “What the hell do you _mean_?”

Michael stirred properly, his eyes blinking open slowly and he jerked back, a frown settling on his face as he took in Luke’s close-up face. “What?” he mumbled, his voice gravelly and deep.

Luke let his head settle against Michael’s pillow, his fingers still pressed against his shoulder. “You keep saying it’s about me,” Luke whispered. “But I just don’t know _why_?”

Michael groaned, rolling away and onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling. “Are you drunk?”

“No,” Luke said softly, watching every move the other man made.

“Then why now?”

He sounded a little angry, and Luke’s teeth closed over his lip ring again at the realization he was the cause of it.

“Jesus, there’s been a thousand chances to ask me this, why _now_?”

“I don’t know,” Luke murmured softly. “Because I thought you were kidding, but when you said it tonight, it felt different.”

Michael looked over at him. “You’re an idiot,” he sighed, a yawn escaping his lips. “Why aren’t you with your girlfriend?”

Luke leant in closer, resting his head against Michael’s shoulder. “Why would you write a song about me?”

Michael sighed. “Because you’re an idiot,” he replied smartly. “Why has it taken you this long?”

“Because I’m an idiot,” Luke smiled, and curled in closer.

Michael let out a soft breath of laughter. “Maybe you’re not as dumb as I thought.”

Luke ran his finger along the edge of the sheet, grazing Michael’s bare chest. “Are you?”

“What?”

Luke lifted his head off Michael’s shoulder, looking down at his tired face. “Wrapped around my finger?”

Michael sucked in a breath, his eyes going wide for a second before he nodded.

“Shit,” Luke whispered, reaching up to swipe his thumb across Michael’s bottom lip. “I thought…I thought it was just something you _said_ ,” he murmured, though the reality of the situation was making sense, and he knew why he loved that song so much.

From the first time he’d ever heard it, and played it live, to _now_ , after the hundreds of shows they’d sung the same words and they’d always meant _more_.

“S’not,” Michael whispered. “I would never say it if I didn’t mean it.”

Luke nodded, looking down at Michael for a second before leaning in, pressing his lips to Michael’s bottom lip in a barely-there kiss.

“Luke,” Michael murmured, pushing him away with a hand pressed to Luke’s chest. “It doesn’t mean you have to do this.”

“Do what?” Luke questioned, frowning.

“Like,” Michael sighed, waving his hand through the air. “Come in here and listen to me say things that could ruin our friendship or our band.”

“Maybe I want to ruin our friendship and the band.”

Michael snorted, raising his eyebrows. “Nice.”

Luke smiled, feeling his cheeks warm. “Maybe what you’re saying and how I feel is worth testing out our friendship.”

“You don’t meant that,” Michael sighed.

“Hey,” Luke said, grabbing at Michael’s wrist, and squeezing it gently. “Don’t tell me what I mean. I’m my own person.”

“I know you are,” Michael said. “And I’m happy to hear you say it, because sometimes it’s like your balls are in her purse.”

Luke bit down on his lip ring. He knew Michael was right, so there was no point in refuting the statement, but it still pulled at him regardless.

“But why now?”

Luke didn’t have a reason, or maybe he had too many, but he didn’t want to disrupt the quiet around them by saying them.

“You can’t do this, Luke,” Michael said softly.

“Hey,” Luke frowned, pushing against Michael’s shoulder. “I can’t do _this_ but you can tell me almost every day for forty days that you wrote a song about me?”

Michael’s lips parted in surprise, and he frowned. “Forty?” he repeated softly. “Did you… _count_?”

Luke was grateful for the darkness as his cheeks coloured and he looked away. “Forty-one, including tonight.”

“Jesus,” Michael said through a breath of disbelieving laughter. “I didn’t think you cared.”

“I know,” Luke breathed softly, resting his palm against Michael’s shoulder. “I just didn’t… _believe_ you, you know? Didn’t understand why you’d say it.”

“Because you’re incredible,” Michael whispered.

Luke shook his head, tracing a circle on Michael’s shoulder. “Don’t know why you think that.”

Michael reached up and stroked his fingers along Luke’s jaw. “Because you are. Always have been.”

Luke could feel the lemonade swirling through his stomach as his skin erupted into goosebumps and he let himself really _feel_ Michael’s words for just a second.

“It’s something I wanted you to know,” Michael said gently. “No matter what, that you’re important enough to have a song written about you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Michael confirmed. “That I’m wrapped, y’know?”

Luke sucked in a breath and bit down on his lip ring _hard_ , and leant forward to slide his mouth over Michael’s.

The older man let out a soft, surprised sound, his hand moving to curl around the back of Luke’s neck, encouraging the gentle press of their lips.

Kissing Michael was so different from kissing _her_ , and Luke found that kissing Michael was what lit fires underneath his skin. The touch of his fingers against his skin made him burst with heat, and he wanted to know his lips, know how they tasted and fit against his because it was the most perfect feeling Luke had ever felt.

“Wait, stop,” Michael whispered, pushing him away just an inch. “Jesus, Luke.”

“It’s what I want,” Luke breathed, ducking down to kiss over Michael’s jaw. “It’s you.”

Michael swore softly, his fingers still curled around the back of Luke’s neck. “I don’t want to be a second choice,” he whispered. “Or because you think you owe me because I wrote a fucking song.”

“It’s not,” Luke insisted, pulling back to look at Michael. “We wrote that song together, Mikey.”

“Yeah, we wrote a song, and you had _no_ idea that every word I wrote was for you.”

“And if you’d told me,” Luke said softly, “I could’ve been kissing you since then.”

Michael let out a weak burst of laughter. “I don’t want this if you’re just doing it because of a song.”

“Michael,” Luke whispered softly, cupping his cheek. “I’m wrapped around your finger, too.”

Michael lifted his head off his pillow, brushing his lips against Luke’s. “Girlfriend,” he whispered.

“Tell me why kissing you right now, is more exciting than every moment I’ve spent with her?” Luke asked. “Tell me why being with her makes me think something’s missing?”

“You slept with her?”

Luke sighed, nodding his head. “I wasn’t good.”

Michael smiled, his fingers scratching over Luke’s stubble. “No one is their first time.”

“We only did it once,” Luke confessed. “She didn’t want to again.”

“She’s missing out,” Michael said gently.

Luke closed his eyes for a second, before looking down at Michael. “I want to be with you.”

“You are,” Michael said softly. “We’re together all the time.”

“No,” Luke breathed, his teeth finding his lip ring. “I want to be with you like I was with her. That one time.”

Michael’s eyes widened in realization, and he shook his head. “No, no _way_ , Luke.”

Luke’s face fell. “Why?”

“Because you’re not stumbling in here after being with her all night and expect us to do something so fucking big that it could ruin _everything_.”

Luke pulled away sharply, surprised by Michael’s outburst. “I didn’t mean now.”

“Good!” Michael said, nudging Luke away. “You should just, go back to your room.”

“Michael,” Luke tried softly, and it physically _hurt_ when Michael rolled away from him.

“I don’t want to do this,” Michael said flatly.

Luke stared at him, waiting for him to roll back over and talk it out, but the longer Luke waited, the more obvious it was that Michael wasn’t up for conversation.

It felt like Luke sat there forever before making the decision to crawl off of Michael’s bed, leaving his boots and jacket on the floor, and went back to his bedroom.

**

When Luke woke up, he felt hungover. He had a pounding headache after hours of tossing and turning and only three hours of actual sleep, and Ashton was knocking loudly on his door and insisting they had a photoshoot to get to, and he had thirty minutes to shower and be down in the van.

He just made it in time, sliding onto the middle seat beside Calum, turning to look at Michael on the back seat.

The older man didn’t acknowledge him, just put his sunglasses on and his earphones in his ears and stared out the window.

**

“Can you not be Calum?”

Calum raised an eyebrow, looking up from his phone to level Luke with a confused look.

Luke’s teeth were clamped down on his lip ring – a habit he’d perfected after a week of silence from Michael – and wedged his hands between his knees.

He felt sick to his stomach, but that had become commonplace, too.

Ever since realizing that the silence from Michael was more painful than the early morning rejection, and it was in the silence that Luke was able to calm his thoughts and make some realizations of things that he figured had been there since he met Michael.

The reason why he would crawl into bed with Michael when they first moved to London, when he was terrified that he couldn’t lead their band, couldn’t be the strong front man his friends expected. The feeling he’d get, sliding between the sheets had always been something he couldn’t explain, but after a few years of perspective and Michael’s whispered confessions, he knew.

He had _feelings_ for Michael.

It made _Wrapped Around Your Finger_ take on a whole new level, and ever since he’d figured it out, he wasn’t able to restrain himself when he heard the song, when Michael’s vocals would start his stomach would bottom out and it took all of his self-control not to launch across the stage and lick into the older man’s mouth, to steal the words and what they meant for himself, only.

“Who should I be?”

Luke blinked, swallowing around the lump in his throat as he looked around the empty dressing room, afraid that Michael would appear and his confidence would wane and he’d keep the words he needed to say behind his teeth.

“Luke?”

Luke sighed, reaching out to pick at the hem of Calum’s t-shirt, running it through his fingers. “I think I made a mistake.”

Calum frowned, reaching down to slap Luke’s hands away from his shirt. “Is this about Michael?”

Luke’s eyes were on his hands, digging his nails into his palms. “I have feelings for him.”

“Oh wow,” Calum breathed.

Luke nodded, crushing his eyes shut tightly and tried to offset the emotion that was welling up inside of him. “I think I ruined our friendship, because I tried to tell him and he didn’t want me to, he didn’t want me.”

“Oh Luke,” Calum said softly, reaching out to touch his hand. “You didn’t ruin it.”

“I did,” Luke insisted. “Because he won’t even _look_ at me, but he kept telling me that he wrote _Wrapped_ for me, and it made me think and it made me realize that he’s the only person who I’ve ever been crazy about.”

Calum laced his fingers with Luke’s and squeezed. “Michael’s weird, okay?” he offered. “And yeah, he wrote _Wrapped_ for you, and maybe you just have to try again, okay?”

“He just, he won’t loo-“

“Jesus, I’m so fucking _hungry_!”

Luke jumped as the door practically slammed open, and Michael and Ashton entered the dressing room, going to the catering table to pick at the different choices available for lunch. Their presence was enough for his confidence to fall, and despite Calum’s pointed look, he just shook his head and decided to take a walk.

**

Luke gives up when one week of not talking to Michael, stretches into two.

It wasn’t  for a lack of trying, too. He’d attempted to corner Michael a hundred times but the older man wasn’t interested, practically handcuffing himself to Ashton to avoid any awkward encounters.

And Luke didn’t _get_ it, because this wasn’t his _fault_.

Michael had been the one to push him up against walls and whisper words that echoed around in his head for hours, he’d be the one to open Luke’s eyes to the heat between them that had been there since the beginning.

It was _his_ fault that Luke was pretty sure he was in _love_ with Michael, yet _Michael_ was avoiding _him_.

So he gives up trying, figuring that Michael has changed his mind, that maybe Luke’s a shitty kisser and way too inexperienced and that he’s just not _worth_ sacrificing their friendship or the band to pursue _anything_.

The pitiful defeat left him in one long, continuous _mood,_ and he wasn’t fun to be around. He’d already had a fight with Calum – which Luke never thought possible because Calum was the most easy going guy _ever_ – and he hated how he was causing problems with his friends.

The US tour was _dragging_ and Luke was having to get through _Wrapped Around Your Finger_ without gritting his teeth and wanting to shove Michael off the stage whenever the man was concentrating on his amazing guitar solo, and he was starting to _hate_ the song.

So he was _pissed_ , because _fuck_ Michael for ruining that song for him. Fuck Michael for making things weird and making Luke think he had a chance.

And then _she_ appeared, somewhere between Jersey and North Carolina, and he didn’t have the strength to mask his perpetual bad mood for her, or the group of friends she managed to find in every city they went to.

She’d dragged him out after a particularly difficult show – everything had gone to plan, but Luke just wasn’t _feeling_ right – and despite his hesitance, she’d turned on the charm and basically promised him sex if he’d have just a _few_ drinks.

He agreed – not for the sex – but because he was too tired to bother fighting her.

But the night was tarnished before he even walked into the bar, a chip on his shoulder the size of _Michael_ , and he’d barely gritted out a smile when meeting a group of people who weren’t really interested in knowing him anyway.

“You’re distracted.”

He looked down at the untouched glass of vodka in his hand, before looking over at her. “Sorry.”

She frowned. “Are you alright?”

Shew as being _nice_ , and even _that_ was irritating him. “I’m tired,” he sighed. “I’ve been working my ass off and it’s catching up.”

She sighed, and her hand squeezed his knee. “You’re not usually this spaced out. You usually give me attention.”

By nature, Luke was a passive guy. He wasn’t the kind of person to flip out and cause a scene and be generally loud and obnoxious – that was _Michael’s_ forte – but he’d reached his fill. His jaw clenched, and he set his eyes on hers, and he swallowed slowly, to keep the rage at bay.

“I’m not giving you attention?” he repeated, his words controlled. “I _just_ told you how tired I am.”

“Well _excuse_ me,” she said haughtily, pulling her hand away from his knee. “You could’ve stayed behind.”

“No,” he bit out, his voice low. “You wouldn’t _let_ me, and I guess that makes me the idiot, for letting you boss me around like a dog!”

“Would you keep your voice down?” she hissed at him.

Luke noticed that a few of her friends had caught onto what he was saying, but he didn’t care. “I’m going back to the hotel.”

“I‘ll come with you.”

“ _Alone_ ,” he amended. “From here on in, I’m doing it _alone_.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

He leant towards her, his face still twisted into a frown. “I want to break up,” he said simply. “This is the end of our relationship.”

She was so angry she couldn’t speak, and Luke noticed that the majority of the table was now aware of their conversation, and for a moment, he was absolutely horrified that he was doing this to her, embarrassing her in front of her friends, and this was so _not_ him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, getting up from his seat. “I’m just...my heart’s not in it.”

For a split second she looked heartbroken – it made him second guess his preconceived idea that maybe she was only in it for the fame – before a hard mask of indifference settled on her face. She looked him up and down, giving him the same look she gave his fans when they approached them on the street, and a sour pout settled on her lips.

“And to think, I was going to actually _sleep_ with you tonight.”

He rolled his eyes, hands gripping the back of the seat he’d vacated. “Nice to know you, I’m out of here.”

He didn’t stop once he turned, stalking away from her, and her surprised friends, intent on walking back to the hotel to try and alleviate some of his anger.

**

“I want it off the set list.”

“Okay,” Ashton said slowly. “You know we can’t just _do_ that, right?”

Luke groaned, digging his fingernails into his denim covered knees, and fought the urge to bite Ashton’s head off. “ _Yes_ , we _can_ ,” he insisted. “We just…take it off! Put some other song in! Like… _Fly Away_? Yeah, that’s a _great_ alternative.”

“Luke, we’re not taking _Wrapped Around Your Finger_ off the set list because you and Michael are fighting like bitches.”

Luke hurled a pillow in Calum’s direction, watching as it bounced off his friend, who was completely unaffected as he scrolled through his Twitter feed.

“Calum’s right,” Ashton agreed, easing off his shoes to wiggle his toes. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just talk to Michael?”

The end of the US tour was rapidly approaching, and for the first time in his career, Luke was counting down to the moment he could get on a plane and fly away from Michael. Because they were actively avoiding each other, and with each passing second, Luke was getting angrier and angrier.

He wanted to scream at Michael, to ask him just what the hell his problem was, because Luke was certain he was _in love_ with his best friend, and Michael seemed quite content to forget he even existed.

“Shower’s free!”

Luke tensed up when Michael entered the dressing room, and watched as Ashton jumped up, demanding he was next before bolting into the bathroom adjoining the spacious dressing room.

“I think you two should talk.”

Luke bristled, shooting a death glare in Calum’s direction.

“I was going to call my mum, so…”  Michael mumbled, not waiting for Calum to follow up his suggestion with anything else before he ducked out of the room.

“Good idea,” Luke muttered insolently and ignored the eye roll Calum sent his way.

**

Luke was having a terrible show. He’d flubbed the chord changes in _Out Of My Limit_ and had practically tripped over his tongue getting the opening verse of _She’s Kinda Hot_ out, and he was _pissed_.

Because Michael was on _fire_ , his energy at an all-time high, bouncing around the stage and singing his heart out and Luke wanted to trip him, to ruin the show for him, too.

But just as Luke started picking up the pieces of his mistakes and trying to give _Disconnected_ his all, Michael was making it very hard to pay attention as he waved to the crowd and danced a little with Calum and was as carefree as Luke wished he could be.

But it wasn’t an _issue_ , until they had to perform _Wrapped_. Luke stood in the shadows as the song began, watching Michael walk towards his microphone, his forehead smeared with sweat and a subtle swagger to his movements.

And despite Luke’s simmering anger, he still felt the familiar clench inside of him that seemed to beat to the pattern of Michael’s name.

And as the older man parted his lips and sung the first dizzy line of the song, Luke was _gone_. The anger had faded to want, and he didn’t hesitate to stroll towards the older man, nudging him just slightly before they launched into the chorus, sharing Michael’s microphone.

He could tell Michael was surprised, that his proximity to the older man’s mouth was something both of them were focusing on. Luke couldn’t stay there, couldn’t be _that_ close to Michael without wanting to kiss him, and he pulled away quickly, to head towards his own microphone, to the ear-splitting screams of their fans.

It was probably the best performance of the song since the US leg started. Luke _felt_ it, that hit to the chest that reminded him of writing it, sitting beside Michael and stumbling over the first line of the chorus, the older man’s perpetual red cheeks such an endearing quality that Luke didn’t understand at the time.

It had him floating on air for the rest of the show, and for the first time in _weeks_ , he walked off stage satisfied with his performance – despite some of the hiccups from the beginning. He followed Ashton and Calum down the dark hallway after the encore, his clothes sticking to his sweaty body, and his stomach bottomed out as a hand closed around his wrist, stopping him short.

He was trembling by the time he was shrouded in darkness and Michael was pressed against him, their panting breaths the only sound Luke could hear.

“Y-you don’t get to do this,” he whispered, his hands limp by his sides, despite wanting to _touch,_ so badly.

“You’re such an idiot,” Michael breathed, his right hand closing over Luke’s hip, squeezing tightly. “I wanted you to want me.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Michael shook his head, his forehead resting against Luke’s. “You stumbling into my fucking bedroom and saying you want to have sex isn’t enough, not for me. I’m not gambling our friendship and our fucking _band_ on a whim.”

“I never…are you fucking kidding me?” Luke demanded, frustration evident in his voice. “You’ve been avoiding me for _weeks_ , and it’s because I didn’t _want_ you enough?”

“It’s because I wasn’t going to tell you what you needed to do, Luke,” Michael insisted. “You had to get there on your own and you have. I mean, you have, right?”

Luke wanted to push him away, almost as much as he wanted to pull Michael in closer. He was infuriated, eyes blurry and body exhausted and he didn’t know what to say.

“Because I’ve been thinking about you for weeks,” Michael confessed, his mouth pressing against Luke’s cheek.

“No,” Luke fought weakly, bringing his fists up to push against Michael’s chest. “This was a fucking _test_? I fucking tried to talk to you about this! I dumped my girlfriend because of you! I just…I fucking love you so much that I _hate_ you right now.”

Michael let out a soft breath of laughter. “You broke up with her?”

“ _That’s_ the part you’re hearing?”

Michael smiled, reaching up to cup Luke’s stubbled jaw. “I love you, too.”

Luke’s shoulders slumped, the fight dripping out of him. “You’re a prick.”

“I didn’t want you to think like you had to like me,” Michael mumbled. “I didn’t want you to want me because I wanted you, because I wrote the fucking song.”

“So you literally ignored me for weeks so I’d figure it out on my own.”

“Yes,” Michael laughed softly. “It sounds brutal, but you know, right? How you feel?”

“Yes,” Luke gasped gently, his hands moving up to cup Michael’s jaw. “How’d you know it’d work?”

Michael nudged their noses together, hands on Luke’s hips. “Because of how mad you were. How fucking _pissed off_ you felt because I made you think about it.”

“Mikey,” Luke whispered softly, thumbs running over Michael’s bottom lip. “I have feelings for you.”

Michael nodded, hands moving up Luke’s waist, squeezing his sides. “I’m sorry for putting you through all that. It’s too important to just jump into.”

“I know,” Luke mumbled. “But shit, you could’ve at least _told_ me. I’ve spent the past few weeks acting like the biggest asshole on the planet.”

“I know,” Michael smiled. “I saw the indirects.”

Luke groaned, leaning his head back against the wall, his hands settling on Michael’s shoulders. “I’ve made a lot of enemies lately.”

Michael leant forward, pressing his lips to Luke’s throat. “Calum knew the whole time.”

Luke lowered his head, and knocked his chin into Michael’s forehead. “Okay, _ow_ ,” he groaned, reaching up to rub along his jaw. “What the hell do you mean, that Calum _knew_?”

Michael frowned, rubbing at a spot on his forehead. “I explained it to him,” he said simply. “He got it, and I made him promise not to tell you.”

“I hate not knowing things,” Luke muttered, still rubbing his chin.

Michael rolled his eyes fondly.

“If you two are done making up, we have bus call in ten.”

Luke almost jumped at the close proximity of Calum’s voice, and his cheeks flushed when he lay eyes on his friend.

“Right, ten,” Michael nodded, casually stepping away from Luke, but took his hand.

Luke felt a little giddy, and he couldn’t meet Calum’s eyes as Michael led them down the hallway to the dressing room, hopefully to snag a quick shower before they had to go.

**

When Luke woke up later that night, he could feel warmth settle inside him. He was alone inside his bunk – there was no way that Michael would fit, and the idea of two men over six feet tall even _trying_ was laughable – but he’d fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning staring at the other man across the narrow aisle between their beds.

It was somewhere close to dawn when Luke blinked himself awake, feeling the memories of the night before flood back, remembering how it felt to have Michael’s hands on him for the first time in so long. It made him shiver and drag his thin sheet and blanket up higher over his bare chest, pulling the curtain open to see if Michael was in the same boat, but the older man’s curtain was firmly closed.

He lay there on the brink of unconsciousness once more, thinking of the previous few weeks and his atrocious behaviour, how it had all been because he was fighting against the idea of having feelings for Michael.

He could see all the times he’d pissed Ashton and Calum off, and the moment the crestfallen look had appeared on her face when he’d embarrassed both himself _and_ her in front of her friends when he’d broken up with her.

For what it was worth, he found his phone and sent her a quick text – _hey, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for us and i’m sorry for ending things the way I did_ – he got an immediate response – _you were a waste of my time anyway_ – and decided things were better left alone.

He rolled over, wrapped his arms around his pillow and let good thoughts of Michael drag him back to sleep.

**

Luke was so glad he wasn’t harbouring the intense feelings of anger for Michael anymore. He liked not glaring in the other man’s direction, or wanting him to fall over in the middle of one of his signature moves on stage.

But the anger had given way to something much, _much_ worse.

_Awkwardness._

Luke visibly _flinched_ whenever he was alone with Michael, exchanging fervent, nervous looks when their eyes met, and swallowing thickly the moment Michael would smile at him.

And he _hated_ it, because this was meant to be the _good_ part.

There were two shows left to go on the tour, and he should’ve been feeling melancholy but deeply proud, but instead he was trying to avoid being alone with the guy he had _feelings_ for.

So when Calum left the dressing room suddenly, leaving Luke tying his shoelaces and Michael picking at a fruit platter leftover from catering, Luke wants to yell at him to come back. Because they were _alone_ , and Luke wasn’t _ready_.

He got up, fishing his phone out of his pocket. “Um, I’m gonna go call mum.”

Michael looked over, raising an eyebrow. “Isn’t it like, two am at home?”

Luke blanched and bit down on his lip ring.

Michael sighed, abandoning the grapes he’d been holding in favour of approaching Luke. “Have you changed your mind?”

Luke’s hand closed tightly around his phone, expecting it to crack under the pressure of his fingers. “About what?”

Michael stopped a few feet in front Luke, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Us.”

“Oh,” Luke said softly. “No, I haven’t.”

“Then what’s going on?”

Luke heaved out a sighed. “Jesus, I don’t _know_ ,” he admitted softly. “I’m just scared.”

Michael’s eyes landed on his. “We’ve established that this is worth ruining the friendship _and_ the band, right?”

Luke laughed softly, nodding his head. “Yeah, we have.”

“So why can’t we just… _be_ , you know?”

“I don’t know,” Luke admitted softly, his shoulders slumping as the fight dripped out of him. He tentatively reached out to lay his palms against Michael’s chest, running his fingertips over the fabric of his shirt. “I’m just so aware that I have feelings for you.”

Michael smiled, slipping his hands out of his pockets to grip Luke’s hips. “That’s a good thing.”

Luke let out a breathy laugh. “It is,” he nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “But I’ve never done this before, okay? Never gone from friends to lovers.”

“Lovers?” Michael repeated, his voice teasing. “We’re _lovers_ now?”

Luke groaned, digging his nails into Michael’s chest. “Not if you keep saying it like that.”

Michael laughed, wrapping his arms around Luke’s waist and pulled him flush against him. “Can we just agree to chill out?”

“Yes,” Luke agreed quickly, nodding his head. “We haven’t even really _kissed_ yet.”

Michael licked over his bottom lip. “This is true.”

Luke’s cheeks felt warm, and his eyes shut, anticipating the soft press of Michael’s mouth against his.

He could feel Michael’s breath against his mouth, and he tried not to whimper as he waited for their lips to meet, but just before they did, the door slammed open.

“Oh _shit_! Were you two kissing?”

Luke sprang back from Michael and crossed his arms over his chest, hunching his shoulders in embarrassment as Calum smirked at them.

“No,” Michael sighed in annoyance. “We weren’t kissing.”

“Were you gonna fuck?” Calum smirked. “Hey, Ash! They were almost fucking!”

Luke groaned, feeling incredibly justified when he crossed the room _just_ to punch Calum’s shoulder.

“Ow! You dick!”

  
“Children,” Michael sighed, rolling his eyes and followed Luke’s path, landing his own punch – albeit much _gentler_ than Luke’s – and it was enough to send Calum away from them and towards the catering table.

“Is this how it’s going to be now?” Luke groaned softly, scrubbing his hand over his face.

Michael took his hand, and gave it a squeeze. “We just need to ditch them, and have time for us.”

Luke nodded, looking over at Calum who was watching them from the corner of his eye. He flipped him off before turning his attention back to Michael.

“Hotel night tonight,” Michael mumbled softly. “Share with me?”

“Yeah,” Luke breathed out quickly, nodding his head.

Michael smiled and leant in and kissed his cheek, and they both listened to Calum’s irritating catcalls from across the room.

**

Luke swallowed, jumping as the hotel room door thudded shut behind himself and Michael, the room cast in low, barely-there light from the bedside lamps and the moonlight shining through the open curtains.

He had his overnight bag in his hands, his nails digging into the leather straps, chewing on his lip ring.

Michael passed him, moving further into the room to put his own bag down, and shrugged off the hoodie he’d put on after his shower at the venue.

They didn’t exchange a single word, as Luke watched Michael toe off his shoes and peel off his socks, flopping down onto the king size bed.

“Gonna stand there all night?”

Luke bit down harder on his lip and looked down at his feet before looking back over at Michael. “I was thinking about it.”

Michael smiled, easing up onto his elbows, looking tiredly towards Luke. “We don’t have to do anything, okay? If that’s why you thought I invited you to stay.”

“No,” Luke said softly, taking a few steps into the room and let his bag drop to the floor before he perched on the bed beside Michael. “I know you didn’t. I’m just nervous.”

Michael smiled, struggling to sit up so he could take Luke’s hand. “I just wanted to be alone with you,” he explained softly. “It doesn’t happen nearly as much as I’d like.”

Luke nodded, looking down at their joined hands. “I’ve never been with another man before.”

“I know,” Michael assured him gently. “And we’re not going to do anything you’re not ready for.”

Luke nodded, swallowing before letting his eyes meet Michael’s. “I want to kiss you though, so bad.”

Michael reached up with his free hand and cupped Luke’s stubbled jaw. “Without one of our asshole bandmates ruining the moment?”

Luke laughed softly, leaning into the touch. “Something like that, yeah.”

The older man’s fond smile barely changed as he leant in, brushing his lips over Luke’s cheek.

Luke reached up to grab a hold of Michael’s t-shirt, holding him close as he turned his head, and their lips met in a slow, lazy kiss.

And the floor seemed to drop out from underneath them.

Luke’s breath was stolen, just by the simple press of their mouths, and he realized that he was _so_ in love with Michael, that he didn’t want to waste any more time if they could be doing _this_.

“Mikey,” he whimpered softly, pulling away reluctantly.

“Shit,” Michael whispered softly, licking over his bottom lip. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Luke breathed, leaning in to kiss him again, but with a little more intent.

His lips parted when he felt Michael’s tongue run over his bottom lip, and he whimpered into the kiss as their tongues met, and the pleasure ignited along his spine. It felt like he was on fire, and Luke’s heart was thrumming in his ears and his blood was boiling in his veins.

“Wait,” Michael panted, pulling away messily, spit smeared over his bottom lip. “Not too fast, okay?”

“Yeah,” Luke nodded, moving closer to Michael on the bed. “I love kissing you, I love your mouth.”

Michael let out a soft groan, his hand still cupping Luke’s jaw. “You make me want too much all at once.”

Luke laughed, moving to rest his forehead against Michael’s shoulder, feeling his body slump with exhaustion. “Can you believe it’s almost over?”

“No,” Michael murmured softly. “It feels like we only started yesterday and now it’s coming to an end and…I don’t _know_ , Luke.”

Luke pulled away to take off his shoes, stripping off his hoodie and socks before crawling up the bed to rest his head on the pillows, motioning Michael to follow.

He did, slumping down against Luke’s body, pressed up tight against him. “Wanna make out?” he whispered softly, their foreheads resting together.

Luke laughed softly, draping an arm over Michael’s shoulders. “I do,” he confessed softly. “Want to make the most of being alone.”

Michael leant in and pressed their mouths together again, his hand resting on Luke’s side. It was so easy to completely fall into each other, and Luke was more than happy when Michael’s tongue pressed into his mouth again, and he didn’t even try and hold back the moan when Michael’s knee pressed between his legs, nudging against his inner thigh.

He tried not to think about it, the fact that he was getting hard. The more he tried to avoid thinking about it, the more obvious it got, and he was suddenly so incredibly self-conscious, and afraid that Michael would judge him horribly for his uncontrollable teenage hormones.

He wanted to push his knee away, even as it was slowly creeping higher, but Luke just _couldn’t_ , instead he rocked his hips against the gentle pressure, and hiccupped into Michael’s mouth when his half-hard dick came into contact with Michael’s thigh.

“Let me help you,” Michael panted harshly between them, pausing the kiss to drag his lips over Luke’s jaw. “Wanna touch.”

Luke moaned, feeling the sexual tension crash into him from every direction, and he was terrified that he’d only need to rock his hips once or twice before he’d be coming into his boxer briefs, and that idea was _mortifying_.

“Luke,” Michael whispered again, to get his attention. “Wanna touch you.”

Luke nodded quickly, his hand closing over Michael’s shoulder tightly, sucking in a gasped breath.

Michael kissed down his throat, his hands moving down to Luke’s belt, unbuckling the leather slowly.

Luke whimpered, feeling the pressure of Michael’s hands just above where he really wanted him, and was more than helpful when Michael unbuttoned his jeans and dragged his zipper down, lifting his hips so the older man could ruck his jeans down below his ass.

“Are you sure?” Michael whispered, hand on Luke’s hip and mouth pressed against his throat.

“I’m scared,” Luke whispered breathlessly. “What are you going to do?”

Michael draped his arm over Luke’s hip, pulling him in. “I won’t do anything you’re not ready for,” he confessed softly.

Luke’s fingers were shaking, but he trusted Michael, and he nodded his head to give him the go ahead, and tried not to suck in a sharp breath when Michael’s hand dipped inside his underwear.

And then all of a sudden, Michael’s hand was wrapped around Luke’s half-hard cock, squeezing gently and stroking lazily to bring him to full hardness – which took three seconds at _most_ – and Luke hiccupped.

“Tell me you’ve had a handjob before,” Michael mumbled, kissing over Luke’s neck gently.

“Y-yeah,” Luke stammered out, his fingernails digging into Michael’s shoulder.

“Blowjob?”

Luke groaned, crushing his eyes shut as Michael tightened his grip gently. “I mean, yeah,” he panted. “Once.”

“Once?” Michael repeated, his tongue sliding over the skin of Luke’s throat. “That’s a crime.”

Luke almost pre-empted Michael’s movements, so it wasn’t a surprise when the older man pushed him onto his back, pulling his hand out of Luke’s briefs gently. He sucked in a breath when Michael’s mouth kissed down to his collarbones, Michael’s hands tugging his underwear down far enough to free Luke’s cock, and the younger man moaned.

“You okay?”

“Yes!” Luke gasped, arching his head back and grabbing up handfuls of the hotel bedding as Michael’s hand slid around him again, squeezing gently, and stroking just to tease.

The older man chuckled, deftly unbuttoning Luke’s black shirt with one hand, throwing the fabric open so he could pepper kisses to Luke’s pale chest and soft abdomen as his hand kept up a slow, lazy pace.

Luke’s toes were curling and he was gasping for breath, and he wondered how in the hell this feeling was legal. Because other people had touched his dick before, besides himself. Even _she’d_ had a go at jerking him off and while it had been _good_ , with Michael it was downright electric.

“Hey, breathe,” Michael whispered against his stomach, tongue sliding over his skin. “You’ll pass out if you keep gasping like that.”

Luke whined, crushing his eyes shut and trying to get a handle on his breathing, but it was so hard when Michael was giving him attention in so many places. If it wasn’t his hand around his cock, it was the sinful drag of his mouth against his heated flesh.

“God, you’re so perfect,” Michael muttered, free hand pushing Luke’s pants and boxers further down his legs, letting go of his dick to pull the clothing off completely, shoving Luke’s legs wide open, before settling between them, his mouth on the space of skin under the younger man’s belly button, hand sliding around his cock once more.

Luke whimpered, forcing his eyes open so he could lift his head off the pillow and _see_ just how damn hot Michael looked between his legs. The older man was still completely clothed, and Luke was completely bare, his skin flushed red and chest heaving with each breath he took. His legs were open wide, and while that would’ve been mortifying, he could barely care as Michael’s mouth moved down to pepper kisses to his inner thighs.

His head slammed back against the pillow once more, one hand moving to tangle in Michael’s hair, giving a gentle tug with the older man’s mouth dragged over his skin in the most perfect way.

“Luke, look at me.”

Luke whined, shaking his head defiantly, because he just didn’t have the strength to comply, because his entire body was thrumming with the need for release, and he was so goddamn _hard_ that it felt like he could come, just from the feeling of Michael’s mouth on his skin.

“C’mon,” Michael whispered softly, kissing his hip.

Luke groaned, letting his eyes open to stare up at the ceiling before sucking in a breath and lifted his head, his eyes locking on Michael’s.

Michael grinned, his hair mussed up from Luke’s fingers, and his mouth was so red and wet, and that’s what Luke was focusing on as Michael moved slowly, the hand around Luke’s cock wrapping tight around the base, his eyes on Luke’s as he leant down, and wrapped his lips around the head of Luke’s erection.

Luke whimpered, and was tempted to slam his head down onto the pillow again, but something in Michael’s eyes told him not to. So he watched, held the eye contact with the man between his legs as he lowered his mouth further, taking in all of Luke up to where Michael’s hand was wrapped around him.

“Fuck,” Luke groaned, biting down on his lip ring and pulling at the metal until it pulled painfully, shakily pushing himself up onto his elbows so he could watch, because it was such a sight to behold.

Michael smirked around him, his mouth pulling around his mouthful, pausing with his lips pressed to his hand before drawing back slowly, and pulling off with a wet sound.

“Michael,” Luke whimpered softly, letting his head fall back for a moment before looking down at the older man. “You’re incredible.”

“Thanks,” Michael smirked, winking up at him before taking Luke into his mouth again, starting a slow, languid pace of his mouth against Luke’s cock, not rushing, just taking his time.

It made the feeling of release build slower inside of Luke, but the intensity was already making his knees shake. It felt like his orgasm was going to sear his very soul, and as much as he wanted it, the picture of Michael between his legs was something he wanted to hold onto.

But despite the lazy pace, Luke was still pushed to the edge within five minutes, fingers clawing the bedding and his lip ring between his teeth. He could faintly taste blood, and knew he’d regret abusing his piercing in the morning, but it was either that or uncontrollable screaming of Michael’s name, and he didn’t want to give Ashton or Calum the satisfaction of hearing _that_.

“So, I’m gonna come,” Luke said quickly, hiccupping and gritting his teeth as Michael’s tongue curled around the head of his cock on the upstroke, before taking him in again.

Michael pat at his thigh, and Luke wasn’t sure what that _meant_ , but Michael wasn’t pulling away, and if Luke was being honest, it was like he doubled his efforts; hollowing his cheeks and squeezing Luke’s balls and pressing his tongue against the slit whenever he could until Luke was gasping, whimpering and moaning softly as his toes curled painfully.

“Michael,” Luke panted, his voice soft in the quiet room, his tone of voice positively desperate.

Michael hummed his acknowledgement, and that was enough.

Luke’s stomach clenched, his teeth nipped sharply at his bottom lip and his head fell back as he groaned loudly, rutting his hips upwards into Michael’s mouth and came so hard and fast that the older man groaned, pulling away while Luke was still coming.

Luke lifted his head to see his come on Michael’s bottom lip, and watched the older man’s thumb collect what his mouth had missed, and sucked his finger into his mouth. Luke whimpered, slumping back down onto the bed, absolutely exhausted.

Michael’s mouth pressed against his inner thigh again, hands stroking over his hips before pressing a kiss to Luke’s softening cock before climbing up his body, slumping beside him on the mattress.

Luke opened his eyes and turned his head to the right to look at Michael.

“Hi,” Michael smiled.

Luke leant over, pressing his mouth against the corner of Michael’s, where a few drops of his come had landed. “Hi,” he whispered into his mouth, patting Michael’s chest.

He laughed, reaching up with his fingers to wipe over his lips. “Good?”

“ _So_ good,” Luke sighed, curling up against him.

“M’glad.”

Luke could taste blood, and his legs were like jelly and he was ready for sleep before he realized.

Michael was still _hard_.

“Do you,” Luke began, swallowing around his nerves. “Want me to do you?”

Michael laughed softly, curling his arm around Luke’s shoulders. “Nah, you’ve had enough gay for one night.”

Luke grinned, nuzzling Michael’s throat. “Want you to get off too, though.”

Michael kissed his hairline, turning onto his side. “Kinda wanna jerk off against you,” he whispered.

Luke whimpered, nodding his head quickly. “Yeah, okay. Please?”

Michael groaned, ducking down to kiss Luke gently before reaching down to unbutton and unzip his jeans, rucking them down to get his cock out.

Luke couldn’t help but stare, looking down at Michael’s erection, and instead of being terrified – like he’d predicted – he was just kind of turned on. It was like looking at Michael’s hard dick reminded him of how much the other man wanted him, and that in itself was mind blowing.

“God, your dick is pretty.”

Michael laughed, the sound muffled against Luke’s forehead. “Wow, thanks? Pretty?”

Luke punched him weakly. “Fuck you. At least I’m complimentary. You didn’t give me _anything_.”

“I gave you a stellar fucking blowjob, thank you very much!”

Luke laughed, his hand squeezing Michael’s bare hip. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

Michael snorted, ducking down to kiss him gently. He pulled away. “Are you bleeding?”

Luke grinned. “It was either bite my lip or scream your name,” he murmured. “Figured Ash and Cal would give us shit forever if I screamed.”

“God, that’s hot,” Michael breathed, kissing him again, his hand wrapping around his cock.

Luke could feel his desperation, could feel the gentle nudge of the head of Michael’s dick against his hip whenever he bucked his hips, and it made want stir in his belly, and he was realizing that being with a man – being with _Michael_ – wasn’t nearly as terrifying as he thought it would be.

“Are you close?” Luke asked softly.

Michael grunted, resting his forehead against Luke’s. “Yeah.”

Luke sucked in a slow, nervous breath. “I want you to come on me, Mikey.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Michael whispered, crushing his eyes shut. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Luke confirmed, kissing over his eyelids. “Want to feel it on me.”

Michael grabbed a fistful of Luke’s shirt with his free hand, rocking his hips forward to glide his dick through his fist.

Luke kissed over his cheek to Michael’s mouth, kissing him slow and dirty, and listened to the sounds Michael made; the wet sound of his hand on his dick, the grunts that slipped from his lips.

“Coming,” Michael gasped softly, pressing his face into Luke’s throat as his hand sped up, and before long, Luke could _feel_ it, the warm splatter of Michael’s seed on his skin, and he whimpered.

He looked down, watching Michael finish and the way his hand jerked himself until he was spent, come all over Luke’s abdomen and Michael trembling against him. He could feel an awareness inside of him, the knowledge that he’d just fooled around with his _best friend_ , who happened to be a _man_ , and instead of being fearful, Luke was just turned on.

“Fuck,” Michael panted into Luke’s throat, his hand gripping the younger man’s hip.

“Yeah,” Luke agreed softly, raking his fingers through Michael’s hair gently. “You were so good.”

Michael snorted, lifting his head to press a messy kiss to Luke’s mouth. “Thanks, babe.”

Luke flushed, snuggling in a little closer to Michael. “We should shower.”

“You should,” Michael murmured. “Covered in come and sweat and smelling like sex.”

“Like you can talk,” Luke muttered, and he knew he should get up.

He was almost entirely naked, save for the button down slipping down his shoulder, and he had Michael’s come on his stomach and probably some of his own, too. The idea of a hot shower sounded amazing, but as Michael pulled him in tighter, and Luke tucked his head up under the older man’s chin, he realized he didn’t want to move at all.

Luke’s eyes fell shut quickly, curling into Michael’s body and felt the weariness from the show melt out of him as he fell asleep in the arms of his best friend.

**

Luke regretted not showering almost immediately when he woke up. His body was sore and aching, and he felt _disgusting_ , like he hadn’t showered after an energetic show, and what was left of Michael’s come had dried against his skin and he just felt gross.

The older man was still asleep when Luke blinked himself awake, noticing that at some point during the night, Michael had gotten up, because there was a soft blanket draped over Luke that the younger man was pretty certain had been on the back of the small couch across the room, and the realization that Michael had _done_ that, made Luke feel special.

He grabbed his bathroom bag and a clean change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom, turning on the shower to let the water heat up, and got a look at himself in the mirror. He was shocked at what he saw; soft little marks from Michael’s mouth on his chest, beard burn standing out against his pale skin. He could see teeth marks on his inner thighs, and the crust of come on his skin, and he couldn’t look himself in the eye.

He turned around, leaning up against the sink, a smile stretching his lips. He winced, as his piercing pulled, but he felt almost euphoric, to know that the night he’d spent with Michael was the start of something incredible.

It was all he could really think about as he entered the shower and washed his hair, indulging in the shampoo he always travelled with, and allowed his mind to conjure up amazing pictures of what his life with Michael might look like.

He was lost in it; the idea of a stupid white picket fence one day, around the corner from their childhood homes, or even something as simple as holding Michael’s hand as they walked down the street in LA.

He was so lost that he didn’t notice the other man appear until he rapped his fingers against the glass, making Luke jump.

“Jesus!”

“Morning beautiful,” Michael grinned.

Luke rolled his eyes, reaching out to open the glass door to see Michael in all his naked glory. “Share?”

Michael stepped in, hands going to Luke’s hips and gently backed him up against the tiled wall. “I could get used to waking up like this.”

Luke bit down on his lip ring, uncaring at the pain it caused him. He was pinned under Michael’s gaze, and he felt his stomach clench in anticipation. “I know the feeling.”

Michael leant in and kissed him, their mouths sliding together hotly. “Fuck,” he panted into Luke’s mouth. “Hi.”

Luke laughed, pulling away to peck Michael’s cheek. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” Michael nodded, letting go of Luke to step under the spray, wetting his hair. “You?”

“Like a log,” Luke nodded, reaching for the bar of soap resting on the holder. “What do you wanna do today?”

Michael smiled, drops of water rolling down his cheeks. “Our job? Last show tonight.”

Luke let out a soft burst of surprised laughter. In the development between him and his best friend, he’d put the tour out of his mind.

“Didn’t know I sucked your brain out too.”

Luke groaned, landing a weak punch to Michael’s shoulder. “Don’t pull that shit in front of the guys,” he warned. “The last thing we need is to be trolled by them.”

“Calum is weirdly intuitive,” Michael reminded him, grabbing for Luke’s shampoo. “We won’t have to say anything.”

**

Michael is right.

When they both climb into the van outside the hotel, Calum pinned them with a knowing look. Luke’s cheeks were bright red and he sat quickly, sliding his sunglasses onto his face.

Before he knew it, he could hear Calum _sniffing_ behind him, and he turned to see Calum sniff Michael, too.

“Didn’t know you used Garnier shampoo, Mike,” he said pointedly, staring at Luke.

Luke blanched, rolled his eyes, and turned around, to the soft sound of Calum snickering.

**

Luke wasn’t prepared for the end of the tour to pass by in such a blur. He thought it’d slow down, that the exhaustion would catch up and he’d want to sleep for a week before going home. But it almost doesn’t really stop.

After the last show, came the _epic_ last show _party_ , which Luke celebrated for at _least_ three days after the actual show. Their friends were there, celebrating their success, and he’d spent a lot of time just with his band, reflecting on their _first_ world tour, and daring to dream about the second.

Ashton had escaped to Los Angeles soon after – the Bryanna thing was _on_ again – and Luke already had a plane ticket home in his name, but now that his _thing_ with Michael was progressing, the less and less he wanted to leave.

They were in a sprawling house on the beach in Florida, without a single obligation to fulfil, and Calum had actually been incredibly helpful in giving them alone time. Because even though they hadn’t talked about it – being apart from each other for at least a _week_ – it was hanging over their heads and getting heavier each day.

They’d spent most of their time in bed – not even for impure reasons, Luke _swears_ – and waking up next to Michael was addictive. Especially as the ocean breeze rolled in through the open windows, and the squawking of seagulls reminding Luke of home.

“You fly out tomorrow.”

It was sometime after lunch – and subsequently not long after they’d woken up – and Luke had been thinking the same thing. He had a nine am flight back to Los Angeles, and then a midday flight back to Sydney. It had seemed like such a good idea a few months ago when he’d agreed to be back in time for his mother’s birthday – he knew without her saying it that it would mean so much – and as excited as he was to see his family, leaving Michael was something that just didn’t feel right.

“Are you okay?”

Luke turned his head to look at Michael, and he smiled. “I’m okay,” he nodded. “Just…it sucks.”

“Yeah,” Michael breathed, tugging the thin sheet up over his naked body. “But it’s only like, two weeks, right?”

Luke winced, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to miss most. The romantic, _new_ part of his relationship with Michael, or the hard-worn, deep friendship they had.

“We should do something tonight,” Michael announced, lifting his head up and rested it on his hand. “Like, dinner.”

Luke smiled, rolling toward Michael to press a kiss to his cheek. “We could do that, yeah.”

“Maybe I can convince Calum to go out tonight.”

Luke’s smile turned into a smirk and he raised his eyebrows. “And why would you do that?”

“So we can fuck.”

Luke groaned, crushing his eyes shut and rolled onto his back. “You’re so damn romantic, aren’t you?”

Michael smiled, rolling over to press a kiss to Luke’s chest. “I’m only half-joking.”

Despite the time they’d spent together – and _a lot_ of it was between the sheets – Luke hadn’t been ready to go _there_. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Michael, or that he was still hung up on the idea of sleeping with him, he was just nervous.

But he wanted to.

When Michael was going down on him in the shower, or ghosting his fingers between Luke’s ass cheeks or whispering all of the filthy things he wanted to do to him in his ear, he wanted to go for it. To throw caution to the wind and just fall so Michael could catch him.

But he hadn’t said the words.

But he wanted to, he felt _ready_.

“Maybe,” Luke mumbled softly, as Michael settled against his chest, his cheek pressed to his skin. “Maybe him not being here would be good.”

Michael lifted his head, resting his chin on Luke’s chest. “Yeah?”

Luke ran his fingers through Michael’s blonde hair, guiding a few strands away from his eyes. “We’ll see how we go.”

Michael leant up and kissed him softly, nudging their noses together. “I’ll make a dinner reservation.”

“Ooh, a reservation,” Luke murmured against his lips. “You really do want to get laid.”

Michael snorted, pulling away from Luke’s mouth to bury his face in the younger man’s neck. “God, you’re stupid.”

Luke smiled, despite the nerves starting to build inside of him, and he tried not to think about it, that he might have _sex_ before the night was over, and despite the fear, he was excited, wanting to share himself with Michael.

But while they were still between the sheets without a care in the world, Luke decided not to let it worry him.

**

Luke wasn’t upset that Michael’s idea of a romantic reservation was an informal Italian restaurant not far from their house. He had momentarily been terrified he’d have to put on a _tie_ or something ridiculous, and have to think on his feet if he was presented with more than one fork.

But when Michael had wandered out of the bathroom in jeans and a crushed beige button down shirt, Luke had looked down at his skinny-jeans-black-button-down combo and felt relieved. They’d held hands as they took the short walk, doing everything they could not to talk about Luke leaving. The late summer breeze blew past them, and as soon as they encountered people, they dropped their hands, trying to look like _just friends_ as they weaved between the people occupying the busy strip of restaurants before finding Breakers Italian Dining.

Michael’s hand pressed to the small of Luke’s back as he guided them inside, giving his pseudonym to the maître d before they were being led to a private table towards the back of the restaurant. The table, by definition, was _bad_ , between the loud kitchen and the public bathrooms, but the table couldn’t be seen from the street or the restaurant, and Luke knew he’d be able to hold Michael’s hand without having to worry about attention.

It’s what he did as soon as they sat down, sitting side by side on the small booth-type seat, their thighs pressed together underneath the table, their hands resting on Luke’s knee.

“Hey,” Michael whispered softly, squeezing his hand. “This okay?”

Luke nodded, deciding he didn’t care what was on the menu, or if the food tasted good, just being out with Michael was what he wanted.

“You look incredible,” Michael murmured, reaching out to run his knuckles over Luke’s jawline. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

Luke leant in, resting his forehead against Michael’s momentarily. “We’ve got fifteen hours,” he mumbled. “Can we just not think about it?”

Michael nodded quickly, pulling back to give them some distance, picking up the menu. “So, hungry?”

**

Luke was full, but he didn’t stop Michael from ordering dessert, and when the s’mores pie was put down in front of them, Luke tried to convince his stomach that he had a little more room left. By the third spoonful he was so _done_ , and playfully trying to bat Michael away when the older man threatened to feed him some more.

They laughed, and Luke reached out to wipe some of the chocolate off of Michael’s lip, and didn’t hesitate to lean in and kiss the corner of his mouth to get the rest.

“This has been incredible,” Michael whispered against his mouth, cupping Luke’s jaw gently. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Luke nodded, squeezing Michael’s thigh under the table. “Maybe we should go back to the house.”

“Yeah?” Michael murmured softly. “If you want.”

Luke didn’t want to leave the moment, but he wanted to kiss Michael and the kind of kiss he wanted to give the other man wasn’t the best idea to give in such a public place.

They fought over the bill – Luke shoved two twenty dollar bills alongside the fifty dollars Michael slipped inside, and shoved the change into Michael’s hand when their waitress returned with it – and they bickered all the way out onto the sidewalk.

Luke ended the minor disagreement with a kiss – lightning quick and pressed to Michael’s lips – and they fell into comfortable silence as they headed back to their temporary home.

Once they were out of the public’s eye, they held hands, until Michael shivered and Luke wrapped his arm around his waist, and they were silent until they reached the house, Michael stopping them at the front door.

“Look,” he said softly, lacing his fingers with Luke’s. “We don’t have to go in there and do anything, okay?”

Luke smiled.

“Like, just because you’re leaving doesn’t mean we have to do it if you’re not ready.”

“Michael,” Luke said softly.

“I mean it,” Michael continued, ignoring Luke completely. “Sex is something you should be emotionally ready for and when you really _trust_ someon-“

Luke stopped him with his mouth, stepping into Michael’s space and kissed him slowly, not wanting to talk about anything, anymore. They’d spent their entire dinner talking; about Christmas and their Bali trip and what the new year would bring. Luke didn’t want to talk, anymore.

“Michael,” he whispered softly, kissing from his mouth down over his stubbled jaw. “Take me inside and fuck me, okay?”

“Jesus,” Michael whined softly, his hands clinging to Luke’s shirt, pulling him in closer. “Are you sure?”

“Mhm,” Luke confirmed, and was so relieved to find the idea didn’t _terrify_ him. “I want to, okay?”

Michael nodded quickly, digging into his pocket for the house keys, keeping Luke pressed tight against him.

Luke smiled, listening to him struggle to slot the correct key into the lock, and he couldn’t help but make the job a little harder, pressing soft kisses down Michael’s neck, listening to him whine in frustration.

“Luke, _babe_ ,” he ground out, pushing Luke away. “Appreciate the kisses, really,” he said, his voice rough. “But if I’m gonna get you inside and fuck you, I need to unlock the goddamn door.”

Luke laughed at his frustration, giving his ass a gentle squeeze, and left him alone.

Michael managed to unlock the door and let it swing open, the house quiet as they stepped inside.

“What’d you tell Cal?”

“I didn’t have to say anything, actually,” Michael grinned, shutting the door and pinned Luke against it nudging their noses together. “He said it’s our last night, that we should have the place to ourselves.”

“Hmm,” Luke mumbled, fingers reaching up to undo the buttons of Michael’s shirt. “He’s a good guy. We should get him a fruit basket.”

Michael laughed, leaning in to kiss Luke gently. “Maybe in the morning.”

Luke had Michael’s shirt unbuttoned as their kiss turned from gentle to desperate, Michael’s hands making quick work of his shirt too, before he was being pulled away from the door and dragged towards their bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes in their wake.

They were both just in their underwear as they fell onto their unmade bed, Luke whimpering as Michael crawled on top of him, hands roaming Luke’s body as the heat between them burned out of control. It was frantic, even though they had time, and Luke didn’t hesitate to lift his hips when Michael peeled his boxer briefs off, and he spread his legs immediately.

“Luke,” Michael groaned softly, hands on his inner thighs, leaving teasing touches.

“C’mon,” Luke panted, gripping Michael’s erection through his boxers, his touch sure and confident.

Michael kissed him, one hand curling around Luke’s erection and stroking slowly.

Luke whimpered, rocking his hips into the familiar press of Michael’s hand, wanting to fast forward because for the first time since the start of their relationship, Michael’s hand around his cock wasn’t enough, and he was hungry for more.

“Do you have stuff?”

Michael nodded, kissing the corner of his mouth gently. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Luke breathed softly, nodding his head to get the point across. “I want you so much.”

Michael pressed a hard kiss to his mouth before pulling away completely, absentmindedly palming his crotch as he crossed to a plastic bag on the dresser, and pulled out a new bottle of lubrication and a box of condoms.

Luke’s stomach clenched, thinking of what was to come, and he was nervous but excited, and he could see the same emotions reflected in Michael as he tore into the box and grabbed a foil square out, and returned to the bed.

He paused to take off his underwear, and Luke started unashamedly at his cock, knowing that this was _it_ , that they were going to have _sex_.

“Do you trust me?”

Luke looked up at Michael’s eyes, slightly embarrassed at being caught staring, and nodded. “Of course.”

“Can you grab a pillow for me?”

Luke looked over his head and stretched up to grab one, handing it over with a look of confusion on his face.

“Lift.”

Luke frowned, unsure what Michael was talking about, but got the idea when the older man smiled.

“Your hips,” he offered.

Luke smiled, and raised his ass off the bed, and let Michael slide the pillow underneath of him before he lowered himself back down, comfortably supported by the pillow.

“Has anyone ever…rimmed you?”

Luke’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head, feeling his knees shake just a little at the idea.

“Can I?”

“Yes,” Luke whispered, nodding quickly.

Michael smiled, his hands settling on Luke’s knees, and pushed them apart gently, revealing his painfully hard erection. “Just…don’t choke me, okay?”

Luke laughed, his hands resting on his stomach. “No promises.”

Michael rolled his eyes, sliding down the bed a little, his fingers dragging feather light over Luke’s inner thighs, watching the goosebumps appear. His left arm wrapped around Luke’s thigh, his right hand pressing Luke’s other leg down against the bed sheets.

“Oh God,” Luke muttered, sucking in desperate breaths. Michael’s mouth hadn’t even made contact with his skin and he was already trembling.

Michael nudged his nose against Luke’s thigh, breathing hotly over his desperate erection before moving lower, his tongue gently sliding over the cleft of Luke’s ass.

Luke gasped, wanting to snap his legs shut around Michael’s head, but the strong grip he had on his thighs prevented him completely. It felt like too much as Michael’s tongue slid further down, pushing Luke’s leg towards his chest to open him up, finally getting his tongue against Luke’s tight entrance.

“Michael!” Luke groaned, his hands reaching down to slide through the older man’s hair for something to hold onto.

Michael was almost relentless, his tongue laving over Luke’s skin, making the desperate fire of want spark beneath his skin, the older man giving his very best.

Luke was on another planet, lost in space, and pushed so close to the edge he had to reef Michael’s hair to get him to _stop_.

“What?”

Luke lifted his head to look down at Michael, the dampness of his chin and his lips bruised and bright red. He let out a pitiful whine, dropping his head back down onto his pillow. “I just…if you keep going I’m just gonna,” he mumbled.

Michael chuckled softly, pressing soft kisses against Luke’s thigh. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” Luke whimpered. Feeling his muscles relax just a little, felt his body melt into the bed.

Michael’s mouth was so gentle against Luke’s skin, but his five o’clock shadow would leave marks Luke would be fascinated to see in the morning, a fleeting reminder of the man he had feelings for, right there on his skin.

He was unable to feel anything but want and relaxation, glad that the anxiety he _thought_ he’d feel was long, and there was just a desperation in his stomach that he didn’t know how to articulate. He was grateful that he didn’t have to, and Michael kissed his way over his hip to lick his way over Luke’s erection, pulling a moan from the younger man.

Luke’s fingers threaded through Michael’s hair again, pawing gently at the strands as he whimpered, his eyes falling shut as the pleasure washed over him.

He was lost in the slow movement of Michael’s mouth on him, the gentle pressure of his tongue and the warm wetness Luke was in love with. He didn’t expect a wet finger to press between his cheeks, but as Michael pressed against his entrance with some gentle pressure, he found that he _wanted_ it, more than he thought he would.

Because the idea of sex had frightened him, unsure if he’d be able to handle it. He ended up on Google – a fact he would never admit, and certainly not to _Michael_ – and he was surprised to find it was kind of helpful. Once he had the facts, he could prepare himself, and now that the moment was happening, he found that he was more than ready for it, desperate to give the last piece of himself over to Michael.

“You okay?”

Luke wasn’t even aware Michael had pulled off his cock until the man was speaking against his hip bone. “Y-yeah,” he breathed out.

Michael smiled. “You’re being so good.”

Luke nodded, his eyes shutting tightly, and he let out a soft broken moan as Michael’s fingers pressed against him with more intent, until the muscle gave and then he was _inside_ of Luke, and Luke was shocked.

“God,” Michael groaned, mouth kissing over Luke’s abdomen. “You’re so perfect.”

Luke whimpered, shifting his legs open wider, his hands tugging at Michael’s hair. “Feels so good.”

The nerves were creeping back in, alongside the burning pleasure as Michael’s finger pressed deeper inside of him. He was so slow and gentle, but every movement was punching pleasure through Luke’s gut, and he didn’t know how to demand more without letting out a sob.

Michael was so good to him, dragging his lips over his pale, flat stomach to distract him from the feeling of his finger, teeth nipping as the finger started to curl, and Luke _gasped_.

“Michael!”

“I know,” Michael soothed against his stomach, his rough stubble dragging angry, red marks over the pale skin. “Good?”

“So good,” Luke moaned, his eyes shut and fingers gently dragging through Michael’s hair.

Michael was taking him apart, piece by piece, and Luke was happy to break, right there beneath him. The older man built up the feelings slowly, and so when he was removing his fingers and returning with two, Luke was more than ready, nodding his head quickly, his chest heaving.

“Mikey,” Luke whispered softly.

Michael’s mouth was on his chest, and he lifted his head to look up at the younger man. “You okay?

Luke let out a sharp laugh. “Are you _kidding_ me?”

Michael laughed, his fingers curling inside of Luke. “You’re doing so well, Luke.”

Luke nodded, the praise making his skin flush red as his teeth bit down on his lip ring as Michael’s fingers curled against his prostate. “Is it always like this?” he breathed softly.

“If you do it with the right person,” Michael said, lips dragging against Luke’s chest with every word he spoke.

“Have you, I mean…been the one to uh, to…take it?”

Michael snorted, biting down on Luke’s skin. “Have I ever been fucked in the ass?” he teased. “Yeah, Hemmings, I have.”

“Oh.”

Luke wasn’t sure why that news was so disappointing. There was a part of him that had hoped maybe Michael _hadn’t_ , that it could be something they could do together.

“Only a few times,” Michael added, noticing the pensive expression on the younger man’s face. “I mean, it was a while ago.”

Luke nodded. “Do you like it?”

Michael inched up Luke’s body to kiss the corner of his mouth, his fingers still curling inside Luke. “I guess, but I like this more,” he whispered, dotting kisses down Luke’s jaw. “I like watching someone fall apart, just on my fingers.”

“Oh,” Luke breathed out, his hands squeezing Michael’s shoulders as he felt the older man’s hard cock pressed to his hip.

“Love hearing the whimpers and the moans,” Michael continued softly, his fingers scissoring inside of Luke. “Love watching the looks on their face when they’re so close they can taste it.”

Luke’s stomach clenched, and the attention to his prostate was _relentless_. “Michael,” he warned slowly, swallowing audibly.

“Want to leave them begging for my cock,” Michael whispered, his lips at Luke’s earlobe, his teeth closing around the flesh. “Want _you_ begging for it.”

Luke whined, his toes curling over and his nails digging into Michael’s bare shoulders. “Mikey,” he panted out, turning his face into Michael’s throat. “I don’t know what it feels like to be ready, but I’m gonna come if you don’t – oh _God_ – s-stop!”

Michael laughed softly, and his fingers moved away from Luke’s prostate as he kissed his neck. “Alright,” he soothed gently, kissing up to Luke’s lips as he gently pulled his fingers out.

It was only then that Luke remembered how to breathe, sucking in desperate breaths as his thoughts cleared, and he was acutely aware of how _hard_ he was, and how _empty_ he felt.

Michael pulled away completely, sitting back on his haunches as he reached for the condom. Luke watched, feeling the anxiety pool alongside the desire in his stomach, and he was realizing that they were actually going to have _sex_.

“You okay?”

Luke tore his gaze away from Michael’s crotch – unaware he was even _looking_ at the man’s cock – and bit down on his bottom lip. “I-yeah,” he nodded. “I’m just nervous.”

Michael nodded, taking his hand off his dick to touch Luke’s ankle. “We can stop if you need to.”

Luke shook his head, pushing himself up on his elbows. “No, I want to,” he assured the other man. “It’s just fear of the unknown.”

Michael ripped the condom open with his teeth and quickly slid the latex on before leaning over Luke again. “I promise,” he whispered, kissing his nose and then his lips. “I’ll make you feel good.”

Luke nodded, easing back down onto the bed and pulled Michael with him, sealing their mouths in a slow kiss, hands cupping around his skull to keep him close.

Michael let out a soft grunt, dipping his tongue into Luke’s mouth and settling against him.

Luke could feel the sticky lubrication of the condom against his skin, could feel Michael hard inside it, and he whimpered, bending his knees and squeezing the older man’s hips.

Michael pulled out of the kiss, nudging their noses gently. “You ready?”

“Yes,” Luke whispered, taking his hands off of Michael to squeeze them into fists to hide how badly his fingers were shaking.

Michael kissed him again, his hands familiar and gentle as they moved down his thighs. He sat back on his haunches again, gently pushing Luke’s legs open, and his face twisted into a frown as he reached between his legs.

Luke sucked in a breath, watching as Michael gripped his cock in one hand, and gave a gentle tug on the pillow under Luke’s ass to tip his hips up a little more, before he was leaning over Luke’s trembling form, guiding his erection to the younger man’s entrance.

Michael kissed him, his lips dry as they brushed over his lips, one hand planted in the bedding by Luke’s head, the other wrapped around his thigh, his hips moving forward.

Luke could feel the dull press of him, and he was terrified for a few long seconds as he pushed forward and nothing _happened._ He crushed his eyes shut in embarrassment, letting out a soft breath as the feeling grew, and all of a sudden his body was giving way, and Michael was _inside_ of him.

“Oh Jesus Christ,” Luke moaned, lifting his head off the pillow to press his face into Michael’s neck as he whimpered.

“Oh God, baby,” Michael whispered, kissing his temple. “You feel so good.”

It hurt.

He knew it would, but there was no way to anticipate the burning sensation and the feeling of _too much_ and how it seemed to zing around his body like a pinball.

“That’s it,” Michael whispered softly, pausing his movements. “You okay? You’re doing so well.”

Luke nodded, letting his head fall back down onto the bed, his eyes opening to see the comforting ones of Michael above him. The tension he hadn’t realised he’d been holding suddenly melted away, because this was _Michael_.

His best friend and the man he had _feelings_ for.

“It’s okay,” Luke whispered. “You can keep going.”

Michael narrowed his eyes down at the younger man, as if he was assessing his instruction. But he must’ve found what he was looking for, because then he was surging forward again slowly, until he was all the way inside, and his hips snug against Luke’s ass.

Luke gasped when he stilled, pulling Michael down towards him to grip him tightly. “Jesus,” he whispered.

Michael kissed his forehead, and then his nose, panting softly. “Do you need me to stop?”

Luke shook his head, words escaping him as his teeth clamped down on his bottom lip. Michael’s fingers had been one thing, but his dick was another. He was just so _full_ , unsure of how in the hell he was meant to process that in his brain. There was a little bit of pleasure, whenever Michael moved inside him – moved a little to the _right_ – but on the whole, it was kind of overwhelming.

Luke wasn’t aware how long he was in his head. In that time, his legs had looped around Michael’s hips, ankles crossed to keep the older man close. Michael was pressing soft kisses to his face, nuzzling him affectionately.

He was speaking, and as Luke’s ears stopped ringing, he could hear the words clearly.

Or, if he was being accurate, Michael was _singing_.

“You can’t do that,” Luke whispered, his eyes opening.

Michael’s cheeks flushed red, a smile forming on his lips. “You caught me.”

Luke cupped his jaw, running his thumb over Michael’s bottom lip. “I love you, Michael.”

Michael smiled, kissing the inside of Luke’s wrist, humming another bar of _Wrapped Around Your Finger_.

Luke blushed, feeling his face heat up underneath the weight of that song, and squeezed his legs around Michael’s waist.

“You okay?” Michael asked softly.

Luke thought he was. The burning pain had faded into a dull sort of ache that wasn’t unbearable. He was still hard – thank _God_ – and whenever Michael moved even the tiniest bit, he could feel the pleasure spark inside him.

“I’m good,” Luke whispered. “Like…I want to, you know?”

Michael smiled, kissing over his mouth gently. “I know,” he whispered back.

Luke sighed, letting any residual tension float away, so when Michael pushed himself back up on the hand beside Luke’s head and gently ground his hips forward, he moaned.

 _Loudly_.

“Jesus,” Michael chuckled breathlessly.

Luke was bright red with embarrassment, his hands covering his eyes.

“Hey, don’t hide,” Michael laughed, pulling one hand away. “I _want_ you loud.”

“Then fuck me,” Luke said, levelling Michael with a smirk and maybe just a _tiny_ bit of fear.

Michael kissed him; tried to kiss away the worry, and gently drew his hips back before pushing forward.

It felt nothing like his fingers, Luke realized, the condom making things much slicker, a lot more natural. Like his body had always been waiting to do this, to have sex with Michael and for it to feel incredible.

He wasn’t really able to do much but gasp as Michael’s hips started a slow, easy pace, one of his hands pulling Luke’s legs higher around his waist to thrust deeper.

Luke hiccupped out a moan, pulling Michael down frantically, panting into his mouth. “Michael,” he whimpered softly. “Just…it’s so good.”

“Yeah,” Michael groaned out, nodding his head quickly. “A little bit harder, okay?”

Luke nodded, and the breath was punched from his lungs as Michael thrust inside of him with a little more purpose, and it somehow made the pleasure catch fire inside of Luke, as he felt the dull press of Michael against his prostate.

“Michael!”

Michael groaned, snapping his hips a little quicker as he pressed his face against Luke’s neck, biting at his skin.

Luke couldn’t _think_ , and he couldn’t get away from the pleasure, and he was fast realizing that he _loved_ this. Loved to be with Michael; to be _fucked_ by him. It was so overwhelming in the best way, and although he was new to it, and had no idea what he was doing, it was hard for him to believe it could get better.

But Michael knew what he was doing, knew how to curve his spine to put more effort into his thrusts, sliding into Luke’s prostate almost relentlessly.

“Michael,” Luke panted out, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m going to come.”

“Jesus,” Michael moaned. “Already?”

“ _Yes_!” Luke moaned, one arm wrapping around Michael’s shoulders, his free hand going to his cock between their bodies.

Michael was controlled and gentle, but the desperation in his movements was obvious. He was chasing the same end Luke was, trying hard to get himself there as Luke whined beneath him.

“Michael,” Luke moaned, kissing his jaw. “Just a little harder, I want it harder.”

“ _Fuck_!” Michael hissed, tugging Luke’s legs away from him roughly, pressing his thighs down against the bed.

Luke knew there would be finger shaped bruises on his skin when he woke up, and he shivered at the thought. There was something about the roughness that was a turn on, as was watching Michael fuck him to get him to the edge.

Luke’s eyes fluttered, letting out soft little grunts as he felt the end start inside of him; his stomach clenching and his fingers trembling and his dick practically dripping in his hand. Michael gave him three strong thrusts to his prostate and he was _coming_ , yelling out Michael’s name as his seed spilled over his fingers.

“Oh God!” Michael shouted hoarsely, his face still pressed against Luke’s sweaty neck, his hips losing their rhythm as he strived for his orgasm.

The thrusts hurt in the best way, because Luke was still kind of hard but his body was spent, and he was pretty sure the over sensitivity was something he could get addicted to.

“C’mon,” Luke encouraged, his speech slurred slightly. He ran his fingers through Michael’s sweaty hair, tightening around Michael inside of him.

“Luke!” Michael whimpered, manhandling his legs once more, pushing Luke’s knees up against his chest.

Luke trembled, his hand moving around his cock once more, tightening around Michael every few seconds.

“Fuck!” Michael shouted, starting to tremble in Luke’s embrace. “M’done, I’m coming.”

“Just a little more,” Luke encouraged softly, kissing down his jaw. He rocked his hips back against Michael, gasping at the pleasure of feeling the older man against his prostate again. “That’s it.”

“Goddammit, I’m wrapped around your fucking finger,” Michael groaned, holding him down tightly, rocking his hips as he came, shuddering through the pleasure and thrusting inside of Luke to ride the wave.

At the sound of his voice, the words Michael spoke, Luke came again, his body trembling as he wrapped his arms around Michael’s shaking body as the older man finally stopped, slumping down against Luke.

Luke wasn’t sure how long they lay there, panting against one another and trying to clear the satisfaction haze from their minds. Michael was heavy on top of him, soft inside of him, and as uncomfortable as Luke was with his own come on his hand, he didn’t want Michael to go anywhere.

Because in the afterglow, reality slammed back down on top of him, reminding him that he was _leaving_ , that what he had with Michael had to be put on hold.

Michael groaned, lifting his upper body away from Luke to smile sleepily down at him. “You okay?”

Luke nodded, running his fingers down Michael’s jaw. “I want to go again in the morning.”

Michael snorted, pressing a dry kiss to his cheek. “Anything you want.”

Luke winced as Michael moved, drawing up and out of him to get rid of the condom. He was distantly aware of movement inside the house, Calum coming home, no doubt. He lay there exposed on the bed a few moments longer while Michael disappeared into the bathroom, and he tried not to think about saying goodbye, but he didn’t want to leave when things were still so new.

“Hey, c’mon, I started the shower.”

Luke looked over at Michael, who stood in the doorway of the bathroom. “What are we?”

Michael frowned, stepping into the room again. “What do you mean?”

Luke sat up, dragging the sheet over his naked body. “I’m leaving in like, ten hours,” he rushed out, biting down on his bottom lip. “And I’m like, in _love_ with you. So I want to know what we are.”

Michael walked back over to the bed and sat down, tugging a piece of the sheet over himself too. “You’re in love with me?”

Luke rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushing. “Duh,” he muttered.

“I’m in love with you, too,” Michael said softly.

Luke smiled, reaching out for his hand. “I’m scared that me leaving will change this.”

“Hey,” Michael said gently, sliding closer to Luke on the bed. “C’mon, nothing is going to change us,” he promised. “God, I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen, and that hasn’t changed in almost six years.”

Luke blushed, resting his head on Michael’s shoulder. “You won’t find someone else?”

Michael snorted. “What, like _Calum_? I promise you, there’s no one else for me.”

“Same,” Luke sighed. “I just wanted to make sure.”

Michael hooked his fingers under Luke’s chin and lifted his head, brushing a kiss over his lips. “I wanna be with you,” he whispered. “I’m wrapped around your fucking finger, remember?”

Luke let out a soft sigh, and wound his arms around Michael’s neck. “I’m wrapped, too.”

Michael let out a soft chuckle before kissing Luke again, and pressed him back down onto the bed, sliding on top of him again.

**

Luke cries at the airport.

He’s monumentally relieved there are no fans or cameras, but he’s wearing sunglasses anyway. The tour exhaustion has caught up with him, and he didn’t exactly get a good night’s sleep leading up to his flight, and he had sat in the backseat of the car that had driven him to the airport holding onto Michael and trying to remember that he’s an adult, that he needed to get out of the car and get on the damn plane.

But he was a mess; torn between wanting a hug from his mum, and staying with Michael forever. His mind and body was exhausted, not looking forward to the seventeen or so hours he’d have to spend in transit before he was home again.

Though he wasn’t sure if anything could ever feel as comforting as when he was with Michael.

They’d kissed in the backseat of the car a dozen times, holding onto each other as Luke shed a few tears before he absolutely had to _go_ , and he knew he looked like shit as he stepped out onto the sidewalk to grab his bag and head into the terminal, trying not to look back at the car.

He was wrapped around Michael’s fucking finger.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I can't get away from Muke! I am still writing stuff for my Bali series, and have another Muke idea in my head! I can't stop!
> 
> I am so incredibly in love with this song, too, and watching the vids from SLFL so far gave me this idea! I love how much Michael and Luke love this song!
> 
> Tell me how much you love (or hate) this!!!
> 
> xoxo


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